What Diabetic patients should know

Another World Diabetes day has come and gone. It was a day of free blood sugar testing,free or subsidised testing for complications of Diabetes,Run for Diabetes,Seminars and Awareness classes etc etc.

In my own way I was also giving free consultation to Diabetes patients.When the testing and consultation are free there will be a rush of patients and I had the same experience.So it was an exhausting day.

Not all who had come were very poor. Many test their blood sugars only occasionally even though they could very well afford it. Many have never tested their Cholesterol,eyes or Kidney functions. Lack of knowledge about Diabetes and its complications were evident in most of the patients. The theme of World Diabetes day UNDERSTAND DIABETES; TAKE CONTROL is so relevant for this group of patients who came rushing to my Hospital for free testing and consultation.
To know more about World Diabetes Day click here

What Diabetic patients should know

Targets for Diabetics
Fasting Blood Sugar 70-120mg/dl
Post meal[after 90 mts] less than 180mg/dl
HbA1c less than 7 percent
Blood Pressure less than 130/80
HDL Cholesterol more than 40 mg/dl
LDL Cholesterol less than 100mg/dl
Triglycerides less than 150mg/dl

What and When to test

1.Test Blood sugar as frequently as possible. At least twice or thrice a month if well controlled.Test HbA1c every 6 months

2.Check Blood Pressure every 3 to 6 months. More frequently if high or low.

3.Lipid Profile [cholesterol test] at least every 6 months if found high once.Otherwise once a year.

4. Cardiac check up [ECG and Tread Mill test and if needed Angiography] once on diagnosis and then every 2-4 years if first examination was normal and there are no symptoms. More frequently if first tests are abnormal or if there are cardiac symptoms.

5.Kidney tests like Urine micro albumin and Serum creatinine every year.

6. Eye check up including retina examination after putting an eye drop to dilate the pupil on diagnosis of Diabetes and then once every 1-2 years.

7. Neuropathy testing on diagnosis and every 2 years if there are no symptoms.

World Diabetes Day

Today November 14th is the World Diabetes Day.
World Diabetes Day (WDD) is the primary global awareness campaign of the diabetes world. It was introduced in 1991 by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to the alarming rise in diabetes around the world. In 2007, the United Nations marked the Day for the first time with the passage of the United Nations World Diabetes Day Resolution in December 2006, which made the existing World Diabetes Day an official United Nations World Health Day.

World Diabetes Day is a campaign that features a new theme chosen by the International Diabetes Federation each year to address issues facing the global diabetes community. While the themed campaigns last the whole year, the day itself is celebrated on November 14, to mark the birthday of Frederick Banting who, along with Charles Best, first conceived the idea which led to the discovery of insulin in 1922

No Child Should Die of Diabetes
This is the campaign theme this year.

Diabetes and children
Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases to affect children. It can strike children of any age, even toddlers and babies. If not detected early enough in a child, the disease can be fatal or result in serious brain damage. Yet diabetes in a child is often completely overlooked: it is often misdiagnosed as the flu or it is not diagnosed at all.

Every parent, school teacher, school nurse, doctor and anyone involved in the care of children should be familiar with the warning signs and alert to the diabetes threat.



Know the diabetes warning signs
Frequent urination
Excessive thirst
Increased hunger
Weight loss
Tiredness
Lack of interest and concentration
Blurred vision
Vomiting and stomach pain (often mistaken as the flu)
*In children with type 2 diabetes these symptoms may be mild or absent.

Type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic, potentially debilitating and often fatal disease. It occurs as a result of problems with the production and supply of the hormone insulin in the body. The body needs insulin to use the energy stored in food. When someone has diabetes they produce no or insufficient insulin (type 1 diabetes), or their body cannot use effectively the insulin they produce (type 2 diabetes).

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that cannot be prevented. Globally it is the most common form of diabetes in children, affecting around 500,000 children under 15. However, as a result of increasing childhood obesity and sedentary lifestyles, type 2 diabetes is also increasing fast in children and adolescents. In some countries (e.g. Japan), type 2 diabetes has become the most common form of the disease in children.

Globally, there are close to 500,000 children under the age of 15 with type 1 diabetes.
Every day 200 children develop type 1 diabetes.
Every year, 70,000 children under the age of 15 develop type 1 diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes is increasing in children at a rate of 3% each year
Type 1 diabetes is increasing fastest in pre-school children, at rate of 5% per year.
Finland, Sweden and Norway have the highest incidence rates for type 1 diabetes in children.
Type 2 diabetes has been reported in children as young as eight and reports reveal that it now exists in children thought previously not to be at risk.
In Native and Aboriginal communities in the United States, Canada and Australia at least one in 100 youth have diabetes. In some communities, it is one in every 25.
Over half of children with diabetes develop complications within 15 years.
Global studies have shown that type 2 diabetes can be prevented by enabling individuals to lose 7-10% of their body weight, and by increasing their physical activity to a modest level.
Type 2 diabetes in children is becoming a global public health issue with potentially serious outcomes.
Type 2 diabetes affects children in both developed and developing countries.

Diabetes is a deadly disease. Each year, almost 4 million people die from diabetes- related causes. Children, particularly in countries where there is limited access to diabetes care and supplies, die young.

Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), a build-up of excess acids in the body as a result of uncontrolled diabetes, is the major cause of death in children with type 1 diabetes. With early diagnosis and access to care, the development of severe DKA should be preventable.
Insulin was discovered more than 85 years ago. Today children in many parts of the world still die because this essential drug is not available to them.
Children with diabetes should monitor their blood sugar regularly to help control their diabetes. This monitoring equipment is often unavailable or not affordable.
In Zambia, a child with type 1 diabetes can expect to live an average of 11 years. In Mali, the same child can expect to live for only 30 months. In Mozambique the child is likely to die within a year.
The World Diabetes Day campaign in 2008 aims to:

Increase the number of children supported by the IDF Life for a Child Program.
Raise awareness of the warning signs of diabetes
Encourage initiatives to reduce diabetic ketoacidosis and distribute materials to support these initiatives.
Promote healthy lifestyles to help prevent type 2 diabetes in children.

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from International Diabetes Federation

Call for a Google doodle for World Diabetes Day on November 14

India is the diabetes capital of the world with estimated 41 million Indians having diabetes.Every fifth diabetic in the world is an Indian.It is believed that about one third of the Diabetic in India do not know they have Diabetes.

You've seen the cool "doodles" that Google has done for Holidays, important moments in history etc etc.

Well the Diabetes Online Community wants Google to do one on November 14Th for World Diabetes Day to increase awareness about Diabetes.
So click here to Petition Google for a World Diabetes day doodle.

Thank you for bringing more awareness to Diabetes!!!